162. What Remedies Does the Holy Father Indicate as Fit to Correct These Abuses?
He indicates some direct and some indirect remedies.
163. What Do You Mean by Direct Remedies?
Those which operate directly against the ills and abuses.
They are divided into principal ones, which attack the evil at its source, and secondary ones, which aim at the manifestations of the evil.
164. What Are Indirect Remedies?
Those which either positively facilitate the action of the direct remedies, or tend to remove the obstacles to their action.
165. What Great Direct Remedy Is Indicated by the Holy Father?
The great direct remedy is the restoration of marriage according to the Divine plan. The world is suffering for having departed from this plan; it can be cured only by returning to it.
166. What Are the Secondary Remedies?
They are especially laws which would protect more effectively the sanctity of marriage, which would punish abuses against nature, and forbid the manufacture and sale of instruments used for sinful intercourse.
167. What Indirect Remedies Are Suggested?
The Encyclical proposes many.
1. Control over the concupiscence which leads to sin. But this control supposes submission to God according to the words of Saint Augustine: "Be thou subject to God, and thy flesh subject to thee"; and according to the warning of Saint Paul, that the sages of antiquity were delivered up to their shameful lusts for having refused humble submission to God. (Romans 1:21-24)
2. A profound piety implied in this very submission.
3. A consideration of those motives for curbing the passions which are based on natural reasons and on scientific facts. While the Holy Father does not entirely overlook such motives, nor dissuade their use, he warns us not to overestimate their importance.
4. An accurate knowledge of the doctrine of marriage. There is more danger of going astray in this matter than in others, because here the appeal of the senses makes itself felt. Hence in this connection more appropriately than ever comes the recommendation to obey the Church, who is the teacher of truth and the infallible interpreter of a revelation which, while supernatural, is also destined, in the actual condition of the human race, to make easily available to all, without admixture of error, moral truths of the natural order.
5. The firm determination to accomplish under all circumstances and at all costs the will of God expressed in His commandments.
In order to form this determination, preserve it, and translate it into action, the Holy Father exhorts Christian spouses to meditate often on their state of life, and on the grace which is available to them through the Sacrament; to remember that they are consecrated and strengthened by a special Sacrament whose power never deserts them. It is theirs to cooperate always with the Divine advances, and by the generous fulfillment of their duties to experience practically the power of grace.
6. Remote preparation for marriage by the training of character.
7. Proximate preparation by the wise choice of a partner.
8. Care to provide a material situation which will render the fulfillment of duty less difficult.
168. Can the Obedience to the Church, Which Is Mentioned in Number Four of Our Summary of the Pope's Recommendations, be Limited to the Church's Solemn Definitions?
Absolutely not. With due proportion, it must be extended to her other decrees and to her proscription of certain opinions as false or dangerous. To trust only in one's own personal opinions, to imagine that the Church is but ill-informed on present conditions, to be ready to believe that her less solemn decrees are mistaken or ill-considered, all this, says the Encyclical, is quite foreign to everyone bearing the name of Christian.
We may observe, besides, that it is scarcely worthy of a man of good sense. Is it not almost a contradiction to pass without any intermediate stages from a recognized duty of submission to a suspicious independence? The true Christian, whether learned or not, sees in the authoritative teaching mission granted to the Church, a sign of God's will that he accept also her less peremptory directions. In everything concerning faith and morals, he should therefore follow the guidance of the Church of God, through her supreme Pastor the Roman Pontiff, who is himself guided by Our Lord Jesus Christ.
169. From the Fact That True Piety and Knowledge of the Doctrine of Marriage Are So Important for the Improvement of Morals, What Conclusion May Be Drawn as to the Mission of Pastors and Those Who Have Care of Souls?
That their mission is to train the Faithful to piety and devotion to God; to propagate zealously the true doctrine of marriage so that the truth may possess the mind and captivate the heart; to counteract the spread of evil by a propaganda fully as active and industrious for the right.
170. Does This Mission Belong Exclusively to Pastors and Priests?
The Encyclical wishes also the concurrence of the laity, and especially of that intellectual and social elite which is enlisted for Catholic Action.
171. In Marriage Itself, of What Must Christians Beware as of a Reef Upon Which the Charm and Ideal of Their Marriage Run the Risk of Crashing?
They must shun the idolatry of the flesh, the ignoble servitude to pleasure. "It is imperative," wisely remarks Dr. Deelen, "that the spiritual faculties keep the upper hand." In this connection the Holy Father scores the idea of a so-called "perfect marriage," which, as has been well said, is really a degenerate marriage.
The Holy Father also rejects, not indeed all physiological direction, but that exaggerated physiological education by which is learned the art of sinning in a subtle way rather than the virtue of living chastely.
172. What Encouraging Doctrine Does the Encyclical Profess as Regards the Sacrament of Matrimony?
It teaches that this Sacrament, which is conferred by the transitory act of the exchange of consent, is permanent in its effects; that it produces a bond that endures as a constant source of help and succor. Just as under the sacramental species dwells the Body of Christ, enduring sign of the Divine life which Christ communicates to those who receive Him, so the permanent bond of Christian marriage remains as a symbol of the union of Christ and His Church, and consequently as a symbol which signifies grace.
173. What Kind of Training Should be the Remote Preparation for Marriage?
A training which curbs selfishness and cowardice in the presence of temptations training to generosity and self-command.
174. What Type of Bride and Groom Are Really Prepared for a Happy Marriage?
Those who are determined to help each other in everything; to save their souls and to work for their mutual perfection; to be real fathers and mothers to their children, and to provide for them at home that happiness which money cannot buy and which is a reminder of Heaven.
175. Which Ones Become Real Christians and Great Citizens?
Precisely those who have prepared in this way for marriage.
176. What Task Then Is Incumbent on Future Spouses and on Educators?
Future spouses must pass through, as it were, an apprenticeship for conjugal life by practicing generosity and cultivating moral fibre. Educators must correct the disordered tendencies of children from their early years, and develop their good inclinations; imbue their minds with the doctrines that come from God, and prepare their hearts to receive the help of Divine grace.
177. What Does the Encyclical Teach Us as to the Choice of a Partner?
It insists in the first place - and with what good reason - on the importance of that choice. How many have to rue during their whole lives the rashness and frivolity of an ill-considered match.
Hence it demands mature deliberation, in which neither God nor religion are left out; in which the aspirants to marriage reflect on themselves, their character, education, propensities, and qualities; and consider, also, the other party and his or her fitness under these same respects, the children whom they must be ready to receive willingly from God's bounty, and finally society and their place in it.
It demands a prayer that this choice may be enlightened, pure and high in its motives.
It demands that the wise counsel of parents on the subject be not neglected: they have experience on their side; and besides this deference to them draws down the blessing of God.
178. What Economic Situation Does the Holy Father Hope to See Realized?
The Pope demands in the interest of conjugal morality and of the home something which is equally imperative for the peace of civil society, a situation which offers to every honest man a livelihood worthy of a human being with due regard to circumstances of time and place. He demands that the father of a family have resources sufficient for the support of his family. Entering into details, he demands that decent lodging and living be obtainable through work; reasonable market prices; for the wife, immunity from such labor as is incompatible with the care of the home and the duties of motherhood, and, in child-birth, care and medical assistance. He is conscious besides that all this is equally imperative to prevent a general upheaval of society.
179. On What Factors Does the Encyclical Rely for the Realization of This Situation?
On a just wage, which the Holy Father declares must be at least a family wage, that is, sufficient to support a family; on the foresight and intelligent activity of the parties themselves, whether by individual efforts or by joint association. Also on the absolute duty of Christian charity, which requires a right use of this world's goods and the dedication of the surplus to relieve the needs of the poor. In case private efforts to this end are insufficient, the Holy Father" counts on the supplementary intervention of the public authority. To relieve the penury of the needy, says the Holy Father, is one of the most important of the administrative duties of those who have the care of the State and of the common good.
180. By What Title Is the Family Wage Due?
His Holiness Pius XI does not undertake to solve this question by an authoritative decree, any more than did Leo XIII in his "Rerum Novarum." But he insinuates, as did Leo XIII, that the title is one of strict justice. The Latin text does not present the obligation of paying a family wage as connected with that of paying a just wage. Literally, the words: "neque fas est mercedes status tam tenues quce, pro rerum condicionibus, alendm families sint impares," are translated: "nor is it lawful to fix such a scanty wage as will be insufficient for the upkeep of the family in the circumstances in which it is placed." The words, "nor is it lawful" must be understood in this sense, the "nor" being used in this instance merely as a connective.
181. Should the Care of Indigent Families Extend to Illegitimate Children?
The Encyclical says that they should also be helped in order to avoid greater evils. Besides, a woman who accepts the burden of motherhood has in part expiated the guilt of conception. The Encyclical, however, protests against the inversion of right order which takes place when an illegitimate mother is treated better, is aided more expeditiously and more bountifully than is the dutiful wife.
182. Should the Intervention of the State be Limited to Material Aid?
It is of the highest importance to the State to safeguard also the moral order; to promulgate just laws regarding conjugal chastity and the mutual duties of husband and wife.
183. What Laws, for Instance, Are Highly Desirable from This Point of View?
Laws forbidding criminal practices, punishing the instigators and advisers of such practices; hindering the manufacture and sale of instruments designed for such abuses; laws regulating and protecting marriage according to the law of God and the declarations of the Church.
184. Does not This Suppose an Understanding of the Civil Power with the Ecclesiastical, an Alliance, a Concerted Action Between the Two?
It does; but such an understating and alliance are highly desirable. Public morals need the guidance of the true religion and the help of grace; while on the other hand civil laws can accomplish a great deal to second the Church. Not a few people regulate, if not their consciences, at least their conduct, according to what State laws allow or forbid.
185. Does not Such an Understanding Threaten to Diminish the Authority and Influence of the State?
The State has nothing to fear from it, since the Church recognizes the legitimacy of the civil authority as parallel with that of the Church, and the independence of the two, each in its own sphere. On the other hand, the family, society, and humanity have everything to gain by such an agreement.
186. Can Such an Accord be Practically Realized in Modern Society?
So much so that the Holy Father can adduce the example of the Lateran pacts, those agreements with Italy which furnished the solution to the Roman Question.
As regards marriage, the Concordat, in article 34 begins with this fine preamble: "The Italian State, wishing to restore to marriage, which is the basis of families, a dignity worthy of the Catholic traditions of its subjects, recognizes the civil effects of the sacrament of matrimony as it is regulated by Canon Law."
There follows a stipulation that the banns of marriage shall be published, not only in the parish, but also in the communal house.
Immediately after the wedding the parish priest is to explain the civil effects of the marriage by reading the provisions of the civil code on the rights and duties of husband and wife. A copy of the marriage certificate must be furnished within five days to the Commune, to be entered in the records of the State.
Grounds for nullity, and the dispensation from the bond of a non-consummated marriage (ratum et non consummation) are reserved to the ecclesiastical bureaus. The Supreme Tribunal of the Signatura verifies the regularity of the procedure and transmits the decrees to the Court of Appeals of the State, which shall render them executory.
The Holy See consents to the adjudication of causes of separation by the civil judicial authorities.
187. What Is the Wish Expressed by the Holy Father at the Close of This Beautiful Encyclical?
He expresses the wish that its teachings may be spread far and wide, and its lessons and precepts put into practice.
Also the Father of all the Faithful cannot but be pleased to receive from men of the world and men of learning, such testimonials as the one that comes from Dr. Rene Biot, of Lyons, who writes: "It is not only lessons immorality but also lessons in method which the Encyclical gives to the medical world. While it will serve as a guide to morality, it will also mark a new epoch by stimulating medical men to new efforts for the upbuilding of the science of 'human medicine.'"
188. But, When We Consider What Modern Society Is, with All the Demands of its "Culture," Is not This a Utopian Dream?
It is no more utopian than were these same teachings when they were promulgated amid the corruption of pagan Rome.
As a matter of fact it is already awakening a response in the consciences even of persons who are strangers to the Catholic faith.
"Here we have at last," said the Protestant magazine Vie Nouvelle, on 30 January 1931, "without mincing, compromise, or concealment, the evangelic ideal of marriage, highly proclaimed with all its severity and all its imposing beauty, and the formal condemnation of whatever threatens its sublime indissolubility or stains its purity."
The noted English Catholic writer and lecturer, G. K. Chesterton, said in New York: The Encyclical on Christian marriage "compels us to squarely face the question whether the world would really be happier under the sexual anarchy advocated by the vociferous minority or living in conformity with the rules prescribed by the Church."
"In truth," concludes the Catholic Doctor Deelen, "indissoluble Christian marriage meets all the legitimate demands which life attaches to procreation."
We may therefore repeat with confidence the touching prayer which at the close of his Encyclical the Holy Father addresses to the Most Blessed Trinity; and we may also count on the Apostolic Blessing which he then gave to the entire world.
May the Father, "of whom all Paternity in heaven and earth is named," who strengthens the weak and gives courage to the pusillanimous and faint-hearted, and Christ Our Lord and Redeemer, "the Institutor and Perfecter of the holy Sacraments," who desired marriage to be and made it the mystical image of His own ineffable union with the Church, and the Holy Ghost, charity, the light of hearts and the strength of the mind, grant that what We by this letter have expounded concerning the holy Sacrament of Matrimony, the wonderful law and will of God respecting it, the errors and impending dangers, and the remedies with which they can be counteracted, all will perceive, will admit with a ready will, and by the grace of God will put into practice, so that that fruitfulness dedicated to God, immaculate faith, unshaken stability, and the riches and plenitude of the graces of the Sacrament, may once more vigorously flourish in Christian wedlock.
- text taken from What Is Marriage? - A Catechism Arranged According to the Encyclical "Casti Connubii" of Pope Pius XI, by A. Vermeersch, S.J.; it has the Imprimatur of Cardinal Patrick Hayes, Archbishop of New York, 10 December 1931; for all the sections of this catechism, see the table of contents; the book and the encyclical are available for download in a free ebook